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Why Revance Therapeutics Inc. Shares Are Sitting Pretty

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Revance Therapeutics (NASDAQ: RVNC) , a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing products for use in aesthetic and therapeutic applications, popped as much as 28% after announcing positive results from its phase 1/2 study involving its injectable botulinum toxin type A, known as RT002, for moderate-to-severe glabellar lines.

So what: According to yesterday's after-the-bell press release, RT002, which is designed to treat frown lines in patients, met its primary efficacy and safety endpoints in its study. Following treatment, 94% of the 48-patients in the study were rated as having "none" or "mild" wrinkle severity based on the four-point Global Line Severity Scale at maximum frown after four weeks. In addition, its fourth patient cohort, which measured duration of response, noted a "median duration of 29.4 weeks or 7.3 months based on both investigator and subject assessments."

Now what: There's no way to look at this as anything but positive news for Revance today. Investors should also consider that aesthetics could be among the fastest growing therapeutic fields because many people will gladly pay up to look and feel better about themselves. In other words, Revance Therapeutics certainly looks to be in a high-growth field. But with no FDA-approved products and the company likely staring down a cash burn of close to $50 million per year moving forward, I'm a bit leery of chasing a $600-plus-million valuation any higher. My suggestion would be to stick to the sidelines and wait for more concrete later-stage results before considering the plunge.

Revance shares may be soaring today, but even it'll likely have a hard time keeping pace with this top stock in 2014There's a huge difference between a good stock and a stock that can make you rich. The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has selected his No. 1 stock for 2014, and it's one of those stocks that could make you rich. You can find out which stock it is in the special free report "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2014." Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this under-the-radar company.

Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.

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A Fool since 2010, and a graduate from UC San Diego with a B.A. in Economics, Sean specializes in the healthcare sector and in investment planning topics. You'll usually find him writing about Obamacare, marijuana, developing drugs, diagnostics, and medical devices, Social Security, taxes, or any number of other macroeconomic issues. Follow @TMFUltraLong